Its a small town perched on top of a desert mesa near the Arizona/Utah border, and if it were not for the 3 million visitors that stream through Page every year, the phrase middle of nowhere might come to mind. It may be remote from any big metropolis, but Page is also the gateway to the wonders of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell, the hottest destination for water recreation in the state. (Click the link for the full story on Lake Powell.) If youre on your way to either of these places, Page is the place to stay, load up on supplies, and spend a day or two orienting yourself to the fascinating natural and cultural history of this desert locale.

The town was created in 1957 to house the 2,500 workers on the Glen Canyon Dam construction project, plus their families. They were installed atop Manson Mesa in trailers, working for seven years to construct the dam. Today this small community with amazing views of the Colorado River has a population of about 9,000, and is adjacent to a 27,000 square-mile Navajo reservation. It is the only community within a reasonable distance that provides full services to any of the nearby recreation areas, and as such has enjoyed steadily growing vitality since the completion of the dam.

What to do in Page? Those who take an interest in engineering and the history of the West will love Glen Canyon Dam, a monument not only to mans engineering prowess, but a landmark in the history of water management in the West. The dam is one of the largest power producing facilities in the Western U.S., and is a vital water collection site for the entire Southwest. All of this comes at a price, of course. The dams placement and construction was hotly protested because of the impact it would, and did, have on the riparian environment along the Colorado, and all the life it supported. Even today proponents of the dams demolition are an active and vocal force in discussions about future water and land management. The dam offers daily tours and interpretive programs.

Page is also the spot to book your tours of Lake Powell and the surrounding attractions in the Glen Canyon Natural Recreation Area. Lake Powell offers countless options for boating, houseboating, fishing, swimming, kayaking, hiking and camping, all in the beautiful, if somewhat strange, landscape created by flooding a deep desert canyon.

No one fails to be amazed by the geologic beauty of Rainbow Bridge National Monument or Antelope Canyon. A graceful arch of sandstone, carved by millennia of wind and water, Rainbow Bridge is the worlds largest natural bridge. Antelope Canyon is a stunning example of a slot canyon, an intricate, winding matrix of narrow passageways eroded into the sandstone mesas. Both are fantastic photography subjects, and trips to Antelope Canyon, which is on the Navajo reservation, must be booked through a licensed tour operator. You can make those arrangements at a number of places in Page.

Be sure to make time to stop by Pages John Wesley Powell Memorial Museum to get a full appreciation of the amazing accomplishments of Lake Powells namesake. Outside the museum sits a replica of the wooden boat that Powell and a handful of intrepid explorers used to investigate the mysterious interior of the Grand Canyon more than 100 years ago. One look at this little boat, and one glimpse of the Colorados powerful water explains why theres a museum built in honor of Powells efforts. The museum also operates a Visitor Information Center which serves as a referral and booking service for local tour operators, including houseboat rentals, airplane tours, and outfitters for Antelope Canyon, and local lodging facilities.

Heres the coolest thing you didnt know about Page. It was the location for the filming of the 1965 film The Greatest Story Ever Told, with Max von Sydow as Jesus and the Colorado portraying the biblical River Jordan. Once the dam was fully operational, the waters of Lake Powell slowly covered the movie set, but rumor has it that you can boat over the site and see the set below the crystal clear waters.